Ballasted, neutrally bouyant floating beverage-container holder which provides floatation, insulation and stability to a beverage container in water

ABSTRACT

A floatable device capable of supporting a beverage container in an upright position near a person who is floating in the water or engaged in other water activities. The center of gravity of the beverage-container holder remains relatively the same regardless of the weight of the drink, and to have the entire unit remain upright in turbulent water. Using a tether, the device is maintained in appropriate proximity to the person while the person is engaged in activities in a body of water. It is a further object to provide utility to swimmers, floaters, boaters, kayakers, fisherman and hunters in pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, spas, and other bodies of water. A collapsible beverage-container receptacle allows for easy storage and transformation of the receptacle for beverage-containers of varying sizes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/703,150, filed May 4, 2015, whichclaims priority in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/988,277Filed May 4, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in a floating beverage holder.More particularly, the improvement relates to a ballasted holder with afloatation member for a drink container, such as a cup or can, whichallows the beverage to remain in an upright position, even in the midstof waves, wakes or other turbulent water where the beverage holder isfloating. Various types of containers are proposed in prior art.

2. Description of the Related Art

Every day, millions of people can be found engaging in recreationalactivities in the water. They may be swimming, boating or just relaxingin a spa. Oftentimes, when someone is engaged in these activities, theylike to have a drink close to them to stay hydrated or just to relax.They don't want to have to get in and out of the water to get to theirdrink, and they don't want to have to hold on to their drink for theentire time that they are in the water. As a result, many people havecome up with the idea of a floating drink holder.

While many variations of floating beverage container holders exist inthe prior art, there are none that have all of the characteristicsneeded to ensure the following: (1) Continuous buoyancy of thereceptacle, allowing the beverage-container to remain stable in theholder whether full or empty; (2) Insulating properties to help maintainthe temperature of the beverage-both hot and cold; (3) A floatationmember to provide stability and to keep the beverage container holderupright in waves, swells, wakes or other turbulent water; (4) Atethering system to allow floatation without the user having tophysically hold the beverage container holder to ensure that it doesn'tfloat away and to simultaneously allow beverage container holders to betethered to each other; (5) The capacity to hold a variety of sizes andshapes of beverage-containers within the receptacle, including cups,cans, and bottles; and (7) Designed so that the beverage holders nestwithin each other to ensure minimal space is needed for storing thefloating beverage holder, which is generally particularly important whenstorage is occurring on a boat, dock box or pool house. Of note is thatin many of the previous versions, the entire beverage holder must bepicked up in order to take a drink, so the bulkiness or size of theholder makes it more cumbersome to take a drink.

Examples of patents covering floating beverage container holders for asingle beverage are discussed more fully below.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,194 issued Feb. 18, 1986 to James M. Kiss et al fora “Collapsible and Floatable Beverage Holder.” This reference shows afloating beverage holder that requires a user to blow air into it inorder to inflate the float. There is no weight or ballast encompassed inthis reference to ensure that the holder remains upright regardless ofthe amount of liquid present in the beverage container.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,948 issued Feb. 18, 1992, to Scheurer, for a“Buoyant Beverage Container for Swimming Pool Use.” This reference showsa buoyant sleeve and a body of heavy ballast material encapsulatedbetween a bottom cap and a retainer cap. Although the ballast weighthelps to maintain the container in an upright position when thecontainer is empty, it has no floatation member to provide stability andto keep the container afloat in an upright position in the midst ofturbulent water, nor does it include a tether.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,709 issued Mar. 17, 1998, to Nobile, for a“Thermally Insulated Floating Beverage Container Holding Device.” Thisreference has an elongated body for holding a drink container, and ithas a weight secured to the bottom of the container in order to providestability for holding the container upright during depletion of thebeverage; however, this reference does not have a floatation ring ormember to provide enough stability for withstanding turbulence producedby waves or swells like one would find in a lake with boating activityor an ocean. Furthermore, this reference does not include a tether.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,090 issued Aug. 19, 2003, to Doerr, for a “FloatingBeverage Holder.” In this reference, there is no ballast or weight, andthe container is maintained upright by moving a stabilizer up and downthe cylindrical body as the drink within becomes empty. This referencedoes not allow the upright stability that is maintained with a weight orballast on the bottom, thus it does not have the stability necessary towithstand turbulence produced by waves or swells like one would find ina lake with boating activity or in an ocean. In addition, this referenceis not designed with an included tether.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,493 issued Sep. 9, 2003, to Powell et al., for a“Floatable Beverage Holder.” This reference is essentially a thick,flat, foam float that slides around the cylindrical side of a soda can.Although this reference does show a tether with an alligator clip on it,it is not weighted, thus in order to remain upright, the float must beadjusted up and down the beverage container to account for the volume ofliquid in the beverage container.

U.S. Pat No. 6,991,505 issued Jan. 31, 2006, to Wells, for a “BuoyantApparatus for Attachment to Beverage Insulators Holding BeverageContainers.” This reference is weighted to provide stability duringrough aquatic action, but it is attached to an elongate arm with arod-like configuration which is designed to be attached to a beverageinsulator used to hold beverage cans or other containers. This referencedoes not itself have a cup type body to hold a beverage container, nordoes is it designed with an included tether. One must hold on to thebeverage container/insulator in order to keep it nearby, and one mustlift up the entire apparatus in order to take a drink.

U.S. Patent Application 2010/0301053 published Dec. 2, 2010, to Williset al. for a “Cooleebob Compliant Upright Drink Insulator Attachment.”Although this reference is weighted and is easily stored, it also worksby attaching to a standard drink insulator, thereby limiting the usage.Furthermore, it is not designed to be tethered to the user or anotherobject

Heretofore there has not been available a system or method for ballastedfloating beverage-container holder with the advantages and features ofthe present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective to provide a floatable device capable of supporting abeverage in an upright position near a person who is floating in thewater or engaged in other water activities. Further, it is an object tohave the center of gravity remain relatively the same regardless of theweight of the drink, and to have the entire unit remain upright inturbulent water.

It is also an objective of this invention to provide a device which willmaintain the beverage in appropriate proximity to the person while theperson is engaged in activities in a body of water. It is a furtherobject to provide utility to swimmers, floaters, boaters, kayakers,fisherman and hunters in pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, spas, and otherbodies of water.

It is another objective of the invention to have pass through holesincorporated in order to allow connection of a tether. It is also anobject of this invention to utilize a tether which can be clipped on orconnected in a variety of manners with a cord of adequate length toallow pulling behind or alongside while swimming, tubing or smallboating (like kayaking) and to keep the drink holder close enough forconvenience while floating, tubing or remaining within a confined waterspace.

It is another objective to have a floatation member or ring to providestability for the receptacle body and drink. It is also an objective tohave the floatation member made of closed-cell foam or othernon-water-absorbing material. It is another object to have an area onthe floatation member or ring where branding or personalization canoccur. It is another object to allow floatation member/ring to be eitherfixed or inflatable.

It is another objective to allow multiple receptacles to nest withineach other so that limited storage space is needed. It is another objectto have a variety of colors of both the receptacle and the ring.

It is also an objective to have a flexible enough design to allowvarious materials to be used for manufacturing both the receptacle andthe ring. It is yet another object to utilize materials for thereceptacle and the floatation member which are UV, chemical andcorrosion resistant for the sun and for compounds typically found inopen bodies of water, swimming pools and spas.

Finally, it is an objective to have a receptacle which will hold avariety of shapes and sizes of beverage containers, thereby reducingmanufacturing costs and thus reducing costs to consumers.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and includeexemplary embodiments of the present invention illustrating variousobjects and features thereof.

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the top view of ballasted receptacle withfoam ring constructed in accordance with the invention and showing anattached tether.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of a side view of the ballasted receptacle ofFIG. 1 which shows the ring in relation to the receptacle and thetether.

FIG. 3 is a perspective of a side view which is cut out to show theinterior portion of the receptacle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a side view of the ballasted receptacle withring of FIG. 2 holding an insulated cup with lid and straw.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the top view of the ballasted receptacle withring of FIG. 1 holding an insulated cup with lid and straw.

FIG. 6 is a perspective of a side view of the ballasted receptacle withring of FIG. 2 holding a can with a Koozie™.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an inflatable ring that could be used inanother embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a side elevational view of the ring of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7B is a top plan view of the ring of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of two embodiments thereof in a stackedorientation.

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional isometric view of an alternativeembodiment of the present invention shown in a first, extended position.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view taken about the line of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional isometric view of an alternativeembodiment of the present invention shown in a second, partiallyextended position.

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 16 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 18 is a side sectional view taken about the line of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a three-dimensional isometric view of an alternativeembodiment of the present invention shown in a third, collapsedposition.

FIG. 20 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 21 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 22 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 23 is a side sectional view taken about the line of FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is a front elevational view of the collapsible receptacleelement of the embodiment thereof.

FIG. 25 is a detailed view taken about the circle of FIG. 24.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

I. Introduction and Environment

As required, detailed aspects of the present invention are disclosedherein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed aspects aremerely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart how to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

Certain terminology will be used in the following description forconvenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, up,down, front, back, right and left refer to the invention as orientatedin the view being referred to. The words, “inwardly” and “outwardly”refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometriccenter of the aspect being described and designated parts thereof.Forwardly and rearwardly are generally in reference to the direction oftravel, if appropriate. Said terminology will include the wordsspecifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similarmeaning.

II. Preferred Embodiment Floating Beverage-Container Holder 10

A first embodiment of this floating beverage-container holder 10 isshown in FIGS. 1-8. The beverage-container holder 10 includes areceptacle 8 in which the beverage container would be placed, with aweight enclosed in the bottom ballast chamber 1 that is encapsulated bythe bottom of the cup 2. The receptacle 8 has a flange 6 with holes 3for securing a tether 4. The receptacle flange 6 secures in place thefloatation member 5 which has adequate space 7 for personalizing orcustomizing the ring 5, and which provides stability to keep thebeverage-container holder 10 afloat.

In this embodiment, the receptacle body 8 includes a receptacle 8 sidewall 12 having a top edge 11 and a bottom edge 13 of a substantiallyinverted, truncated, cone-shaped surface which is centered vertically.The receptacle 8 is made of injected molded plastic with a weight ofapproximately 130 grams. The internal dimensions of the receptacle 8 aresized to receive a 24-ounce insulated Tervis™ tumbler, an aluminumbeverage can, with or without an insulating cover like a Koozie™, a wineglass with or without a stabilizer, or a standard beer bottle, and theinjection molded plastic provides an insulating barrier between thewater and the beverage container.

At the top edge 11 of the side wall 12 a flange 6 or lip ofapproximately 20 mm This flange 6 contains two holes 3 which can be usedto clip or wrap a tether 4 to the floating beverage holder to keep itfrom floating away either by current or wind from the user. The top ofthe cylindrical receptacle 8 is completely open so as to permit theinsertion of a beverage container into the receptacle 8. The floor 14 ofthe open receptacle 8 contains ridges 9 to prevent a vacuum seal frombeing formed between the drink container and the receptacle walls.

A ballast chamber 1 is positioned below the above-described receptacle8, and this contains dense material in the form of a puck to serve as aballast, much like that on a sailboat, to provide stability with orwithout a beverage container in the receptacle 8. This provides neutralbuoyancy, and in fact it keeps the receptacle 8 upright in the waterwhen it has no beverage container, even without the floatation member 5.Below the dense material or weight is a bottom wall 2 that provides awater-tight closure. The ballast may be incorporated into the receptacle8 through various processes including: (1) Putting the weight into theballast chamber 1 and enclosing the chamber with a sonic-welded cap; (2)Placing the weight into the ballast chamber 1 and over-molding theweight to create the bottom wall 2; (3) Injection molding by employingan “insert molding” which is a process that requires post-mold sealingof locator pin holes; (4) Using a cup containing the weight and affixingit to the bottom 2 of the receptacle 8 ; or (5) Inserting the weightinto the inside bottom of the receptacle 8 and over-molding or affixingan internal cap to the interior of the receptacle 8 via sonic-welding orother processes. The weight of the ballast material or puck in thisembodiment is 520 grams.

The floatation member 5 in this embodiment is a ring which is held inplace by the friction caused by compression of the floatation member 5and is vertically restricted by the flange 6 of the receptacle 8. Thefloatation member 5 is placed onto the receptacle 8 from the bottom 2,pushed up to the flange 6 where it remains in place. The floatationmember 5 can remain in place during storage or can be taken off forstorage, if needed. The top 7 and sides of the floatation member 5 canbe branded or personalized as described above. The floatation member 5in this embodiment has a weight of 41 to 91 grams, depending upon theprocess used for manufacturing the ring, either molded or vinyl dipped.In the case of a molded ring, it is manufactured through either anexothermic or an endothermic process, depending upon the compound thatis used. The molded ring in this embodiment weighs 41 grams and has adensity of approximately 1.65 pounds/cubic foot. A vinyl-dipped ring forthe current embodiment would be die-cut from sheet stock and then vinyldipped. The vinyl-dipped ring in this embodiment weighs 91 grams and hasa foam density of 3.6 pounds/cubic foot. Both types of rings can bebranded or personalized through printing, stamping, laser-etching orapplication of vinyl decals.

The tether 4 is extruded plastic coil with ends looped. In thisembodiment, one end of the tether 4 is connected to a prefabricatedplastic spring clip. The tether 4 can either be affixed to thereceptacle 8 through the hole 3 on the flange 6 by pulling it throughthe looped end and with the spring clip being utilized to clip thetether 4 to a bathing suit or other object or by clipping it to thetether 4 itself thereby creating a loop that can be wrapped around awrist or other object. Conversely, the spring clip may be attacheddirectly to one of the holes 3 in the flange 6 of the receptacle 8 afterrunning it through the loop end of the tether 4 to create a loop thatcan be wrapped around a user's wrist or other object

In other embodiments, the receptacle 8 may be made of other sufficientlydense materials, such as stainless steel, rather than of injected-moldedplastic as described above. In still other embodiments, the size of theunit could be changed to accommodate different sizes of beveragecontainers, such as smaller beverage containers used by children orsmaller beverage containers that are used by many resorts to reducetheir beverage costs.

In another embodiment, referring now to FIG.7, an inflatable floatationmember 5 or ring can be used as the floatation member 5. This floatationmember 5 may be made with blow-molding, roto-molding or by various otherprocesses known for producing other types of water products, withinflation valves incorporated. The floatation member 5 is inflated atthe valve by blowing or by mechanical pumping. This embodiment may yielda lower cost alternative in order to reduce the cost to the consumer.

It is contemplated that the receptacle 8 can be made in any color or amixture of colors. It is further contemplated that the floatation member5 or ring can be made in any color or a mixture of colors. It is furthercontemplated that the floatation member 5 or ring can be branded orpersonalized on the top 7, bottom or sides of the ring, depending uponwhich ring embodiment is used. It is still further contemplated that thewall thickness of the receptacle 8 itself and/or the number of walls ofthe receptacle may be changed in another embodiment to provideadditional insulation to the beverage container.

As shown in FIG. 8, the beverage-container holder is designed to benested within each other to ensure minimal space needed for storagewhich is important in small spaces such as within ab oat, dock box, orpool house.

The premise of the present floating beverage-container holder 10 relieson the principles of a centered ballast or a conical pendulum. Thebeverage-container holder's 10 centered ballast is molded into thebottom 2 of the vessel which provides a constant center of gravity. Theballast weight combined with the weight of the receptacle 8 material iscalculated to make the receptacle 8 neutrally buoyant. This allows thereceptacle 8 in this embodiment to float on its own 1.5″ above thewaterline while maintaining the center of gravity approximately 4.5″below the surface. The 1.5″ thick foam ring 5 in this embodiment has tosupport the weight of the beverage and its container while providingdimensional stability to the neutrally buoyant receptacle 8. Thestabilizing action of the foam ring keeps the receptacle 8 and itscontents perpendicular to the surface of the water.

The exact weight of the loaded beverage-container holder 10 depends onthe volume of the beverage left inside the container and the weight ofthe beverage container itself. From a mathematical perspective; afterevery sip of the beverage from the container, the weight distributionchanges but the constant is still there. Due to the neutrally buoyantnature of the receptacle 8, as stated above, the foam ring 5 onlysupports the weight of the beverage and its container. The floatingbeverage-container holder 10 in this embodiment has an effective weightcapacity of zero (0) to 3.75 pounds of beverage and associated containercomponent weight.

III. Alternative Embodiment Floating Beverage-Container Holder 110

FIGS. 9-25 show an alternative embodiment floating beverage-containerholder 110 which incorporates many of the same features of theembodiment disclosed above, including receptacle 108 having a flange 106with holes 103 for receiving a tether or other tie-down element. Aflotation member 105 having a top surface 107 is also incorporated aboutthe receptacle 108. The receptacle 108 has a ballast chamber 101 at itsbase, with a bottom lid 102 for access thereto.

This embodiment differs from previous embodiments as the receptacle 108is collapsible. FIGS. 9-13 show the beverage-container holder 110 in afirst orientation having a fully extended receptacle 108. FIGS. 14-18show the beverage-container holder 110 in a second orientation beingpartially collapsed for holding shorter beverage containers, such assoda cans. FIGS. 19-23 show the beverage-container holder 110 in a thirdorientation being fully collapsed for storage and shipping.

As shown in FIG. 13, the side wall 112 of the receptacle 108, which hasa bottom edge 113 and top edge 111, is further broken into a bottomsegment 116, a middle segment 118, and a top segment 124. A first break120 separates the bottom and middle segments. A second break 122separates the top and middle segments. The middle segment also includesan internal break 119. FIGS. 13, 18, and 23 show internally how thesethree segments 116, 118, 124 collapse together about the various breaks120, 122, 119. FIGS. 10, 15, and 20 show how this appears from theexterior of the beverage-container holder 110.

The ballast chamber 101 could be a solid piece of material with a bottom102, or a ballast chamber for holding water or other solutions ormaterials with the bottom 102 acting as a lid for filling. The weight ofthe entire assembly functions to counter the weight of the beveragecontainer and functions as a ballast, but the ballast chamber 101 helpsto maintain a low center of gravity and stability.

FIG. 24 shows the receptacle 108 with collapsible base 114 as discussedin detail above, but also showing a pair of ribs 126 and a base lip 128which helps to secure the receptacle 108 within the ring 105. The ribs126 and lower lip 128 along with the flange 106 prevent the receptacle108 from accidentally popping out of the ring 105 when device is in use.FIG. 25 shows the ribs in more detail.

It is to be understood that while certain embodiments and/or aspects ofthe invention have been shown and described, the invention is notlimited thereto and encompasses various other embodiments and aspects.

1. A ballasted, neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holdercomprising: a beverage-container holder receptacle body including afloor with elevated ridges and a receptacle side wall having a top edgeand a bottom edge and defining a substantially inverted, truncatedsurface which is centered to accommodate most commonly availablebeverage containers while also providing an insulating barrier betweenthe water and beverage container; a permanently affixed ballast chamberpositioned below the receptacle floor, wherein the ballast chambercontains sufficiently dense material to serve as a ballast to providestability by ensuring the center of gravity is always below the waterline, with or without a beverage container in the receptacle so that itremains upright in the water; a floatation member retained to saidreceptacle body, with said floating member having a sufficient verticalheight, being buoyant in water to provide stability for the neutrallybuoyant receptacle body and ballast chamber, the flotation memberproviding sufficient buoyancy to cause receptacle and ballast chamber tofloat in water when said receptacle contains a full beverage container;said receptacle side wall comprised of a plurality of collapsiblesections, thereby allowing said receptacle to transition between afirst, fully extended orientation, a second, partially extendedorientation, and a third, collapsed orientation wherein said receptacleside wall is fully contained within a space between a top edge and abottom edge of said flotation member; and a tether of a length attachedto the receptacle which will keep the beverage-container holder within adesired area of a body of water.
 2. The ballasted neutrally buoyantfloating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein saidbottom wall of the ballast chamber provides a water-tight closure. 3.The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder asrecited in claim 1 wherein said receptacle floor is designed withelevated ridges to prevent a vacuum seal from being formed between thebeverage container and the receptacle floor.
 4. The ballasted neutrallybuoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1,wherein said permanently affixed ballast chamber contains dense materialthat is completely enclosed within the ballast chamber to offsetbuoyancy and provide stability.
 5. The ballasted neutrally buoyantfloating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein saidfloatation member is retained on said receptacle body by compressionfriction between the floatation member and receptacle body and isvertically restricted by a perpendicularly protruding flange.
 6. Theballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder asrecited in claim 5, wherein said perpendicularly protruding flange alsocontains a plurality of perforations to attach said tether.
 7. Theballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder asrecited in claim 1, wherein said ballast chamber is permanently enclosedwithin the bottom wall of the ballast chamber.
 8. The ballastedneutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim1, wherein said ballast chamber contains sufficiently dense material tooffset the buoyancy force created by submerged portions of the ballastchamber and receptacle body.
 9. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floatingbeverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, where the ballastweight combined with the weight of the receptacle is calculated to makethe receptacle neutrally buoyant allowing the flotation member tosupport only the weight of the beverage container and the beveragewithin.
 10. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-containerholder as recited in claim 1, further comprising: at least one riblocated on an exterior face of said receptacle, said at least one ribconfigured to constrain said receptacle within said flotation member;and a base lip located on said exterior face of said receptacle, saidbase lip configured to engage with a lower face of said flotation memberand configured to constrain said receptacle within said flotationmember.
 11. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-containerholder as recited in claim 1, further comprising: said collapsiblesections comprising an upper section, a middle section, and a lowersection; a first break located between said lower section and saidmiddle section configured to allow said lower section to be collapsedwithin said middle section; and a second break located between saidmiddle section and said upper section configured to allow said lower andmiddle sections to be collapsed within said upper section.